the son of Dharma. said,—’Do thou
accept from me these gifts of water and roots and
fruits. It has been said, O king, that one’s
guest should take that which one takes oneself.’
Thus addressed, Dharma’s son answered the king,
saying,—’So be it.’ The
mighty-armed king ate the fruits and roots which the
monarch gave him. Then they all spread their
beds under a tree and passed that night thus, having
eaten fruits and roots and drunk the water that the
old king had given them."’
“Vaisampayana said, ’They passed that
night which was characterised by auspicious constellations
even thus, O king, in that retreat of righteous ascetics.
The conversation that occurred was characterised by
many reflections on morality and wealth. Consisting
of delightful and sweet words, it was graced with
diverse citations from the Srutis. The Pandavas,
O king, leaving costly beds, laid themselves down,
near their mother, on the bare ground. Indeed,
those heroes passed that night, having eaten the food
which was the food of the high-souled king Dhritarashtra.
After the night had passed away, king Yudhishthira,
having gone through his morning acts, proceeded to
survey that retreat in the company of his brothers.
With the ladies of his household the servants, and
his priest, the king roved about the retreat in all
directions, as he pleased, at the command of Dhritarashtra.
He beheld many sacrificial altars with sacred fires
blazing on them and with many ascetics seated on them,
that had performed their oblations and poured libations
in honour of the deities. Those altars were overspread
with fruits and roots of the forest, and with heaps
of flowers. The smoke of clarified butter curled
upwards from them. They were graced, besides,
with many ascetics possessed of bodies that looked
like the embodied Vedas and with many that belonged
to the lay brotherhood. Herds of deer were grazing,
or resting here and there, freed from every fear.
Innumerable birds also were there, engaged in uttering
their melodious notes, O king. The whole forest
seemed to resound with the notes of peacocks and Datyuhas
and Kokilas and the sweet songs of other warblers.[43]
Some spots echoed with the chant of Vedic hymns recited
by learned Brahmanas. Some were adorned with
large heaps of fruits and roots gathered from the wilderness.
King Yudhishthira then gave those ascetics jars made
of gold or copper which he had brought for them, and
many deer-skins and blankets and sacrificial ladles
made of wood, and Kamandalus and wooden platters, and
pots and pans, O Bharata.[44] Diverse kinds of vessels,
made of iron, and smaller vessels and cups of various
sizes, were also given away by the king, the ascetics
taking them away, each as many as he liked. King
Yudhishthira of righteous soul, having thus roved
through the woods and beheld the diverse retreats
of ascetics and made many gifts, returned to the place
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